Like many people in the Bay, I have been quite relieved to experience some cooler temperatures for the past few days. As lovely as they are, there comes a time when you need a small break from constant 30C days, especially when you're not feeling well.
It's no fun having a cold but it's even less pleasant when it's blazing hot. Everyone is outside swimming or frolicking in meadows and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and hibernate for 48 hours.
I'm quite the sook when it comes to colds. I feel very sorry for myself and want to eat junk food to make myself feel better but can't taste it, so end up depressed and slightly fatter than I was before. I sneeze a lot (I sneeze a fair amount in normal life, too) and it's not something I seem to be able to do discreetly. My eyebrows go up, eyes squint, tongue hangs out (I'm told I look like a panting dog at this stage) before multiple intakes of breath, all leading to a giant "ah choo!"
If the average person's sneeze travels at 100km/h then mine would get done for speeding every time.
At least I have forewarning that a time of sickness is near. Yes, there's the sneezing, itchy throat and beginnings of a sniffle but I also seem to get the hiccups more and, just like sneezing, hiccupping is not a thing I do quietly. In fact, it can be downright offensive.